Believe it or not, there are quite a few things you can do to prep your house for a sale without leaving your home or spending a lot of money.
Here are Six Things You Can Do to Get Your Home Ready to Sell.
Deep Clean
Before listing your home (and then throughout the selling process), your home needs to be sparkling clean (inside and outside) in order to make the best first impression possible to potential buyers. Beyond cleaning the basics (scrubbing bathrooms, cleaning toilets, cleaning the kitchen, wiping down surfaces, cleaning/vacuuming the floors), this is a great time to buckle down on the tasks you normally avoid doing. From ceiling fans to floors and everything in between, clean your home until it sparkles.
- Dust & Wipe Down all Ceiling Fans and Lighting Fixtures
- Clean all the Baseboards
- Clean all the Windows & Screens
- Dust Everything
- Clean Rain Gutters
- Pressure Wash or Use “home wash” (a hose attachment that is available at any home improvement store) to clean the outside of the house.
Start the process early and get going with a blank slate by setting aside a day for giving your home a top-to-bottom deep clean, making sure to get in all the nooks and crannies. It won’t be fun, but at least it will be easier to ensure your home is as clean as possible for showings when they do start happening.
EXPERT CLEANING TIP: Clean high before you clean low. Start with ceiling fans, overhead lighting fixtures, high shelving, and other features close to the ceiling.
Organize & Declutter
Decluttering and organizing your space will go a long way in appealing to potential buyers. When a home is clutter-free, buyers are able to focus on the actual home instead of on the junk, knick knacks and overflowing closets.
While organizing your things, put things aside you don’t need anymore.
Areas to Organize & Declutter
- Closets
- Kitchen Pantry
- Kitchen Cabinets & Drawers
- Linen Closets
- Garage
EXPERT ORGANIZING TIP: Go through each room (yes, even closets—buyers will want to look in there) and organize unwanted items into three piles—trash, recycle, and donate.
De-personalize
While you’re organizing & decluttering, you may want to start to pack away personal items. When selling a home, you want to strike the perfect balance between depersonalization and creating a warm, welcoming home. The more personal stuff in your house, the less potential buyers can imagine themselves living there. This means putting away the majority of family photos, memorabilia collections and personal keepsakes. (think: photo albums, magazines, toys, equipment, awards, etc) throughout the home. Leave a few nice, framed photos around the house to make the home appear inviting and lived in.
Freshen Up Your Walls
Now’s the time to re-paint your home. Start by painting over brightly painted walls with neutral colors. Adding a fresh coat of paint to your home will also help cover the wall’s imperfections and convey a blank slate to potential buyers.
EXPERT PAINTING TIP: Stick to whites, light grays, light beiges, and “greige” wall colors. These shades will make your home appear bigger, brighter and more welcoming.
Lighten Up
Maximize the light in your home. After location, good light is the one thing that every buyer cites that they want in a home. Homes can go from dark and unwelcoming to cozy and warm by swapping out just a few lightbulbs.
- Replace Lightbulbs
- Clean Lamps & Shades
- Wash Curtains and Blinds
EXPERT LIGHTING TIP: Consider buying LED bulbs, which are the most energy-efficient ones you can buy. LED bulbs can last between 20,000 to 50,000 hours! LED bulbs are also more versatile because they can change colors and dim to suit your preferences.
Yard Work
They say that the First Impression is the only impression. No matter how good the interior of your home looks, buyers have already judged your home before they walk through the door. Curb appeal is crucial to a good first impression, so make sure your home’s exterior and all of its elements are immaculate. This includes the landscape, planters, the front, side and back yards, the driveway, the walkway leading up to the front door and even the street in front of the house.
- Mow the Lawn
- Prune the Bushes
- Weed the Garden
- Plant Flowers.
Tackling small projects from cleaning the corners you may normally skip to tidying up your yard are easy and necessary wins if you’re thinking of listing your house and making a move.
